Ripples in a Pond
by Natsumi Wakabe
Summary: There's so much more to him than people seem to realize.  N/A some of this is made up, but not all.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and co. I'm just playing around with the characters and stuff.

A/N: Hey everyone, Isuzu here. Natsumi wrote something that she's _somewhat_ confidant with, so I got her to give it to me after she finished. Be honest with your thoughts if/when you comment (please comment, please!), but keep in mind this is her first public work, so it's probably gonna be shit. Be gentle. Thanks!

Umino Iruka was many things. He was a ninja from Konohagakure no Sato. He was a Chuunin teacher at the Ninja Academy, who also happened to work at the mission desk in his spare time. Due to this, he rarely went out on missions, seeing as his main purpose was to prepare the future generations of shinobi. To most, he was nothing special, just another face in the village-nothing too special in the wake of Hatake Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and some of the newest generation of ninja.

But Iruka was so much more than just this bare profile. He was one of the best, and, consequently, one of the most respected teachers in the Academy. He was beloved by his students, many of whom still visit him even after they graduate. He was one of the first to reach out to Naruto and see beyond the monster that was sealed within him, for which he has the vessel's eternal dedication and love for. He was one of the driving forces behind the mission desk, the one who wasn't afraid to yell at jonin that were able to kill him in a heartbeat. The one that was able to fight them in the mission room about getting their reports done right and _won_. He was kind, caring, responsible, and reliable and had one hell of a temper.

He was a Gemini, born May 26 to the Umino family, which he would lose to the invasion of the nine tailed fox. He was the last of his family, alone from a young age, orphaned like so many others had been in the wake of that destructive night. He was the class clown, but also a great student. He was a prankster, one that was so much worse than Naruto could ever hope to be. He was a grieving child, left alone in the world, even when surrounded by his village, his friends, and the ones that reached out to him, but could never truly touch the parts of him that were hidden even from him under all the scars he'd acquired over his years.

He was the little boy that the Hokage had introduced him to Naruto when he was his most hurt and angry-after he'd just gone to visit his parents for the first time after the funeral. He was the ten year old who held baby Naruto for the first time. The ten year old that cried silently as he held him in his arms, realizing for the first time that it was not this tiny, defenseless and vulnerable child that had caused him his pain, he shared it.

He was the newly graduated genin, eager, giddy, and emitting _manly_ chuckles, NOT giggles. Anyone who said otherwise was lying. And if Genma told you, then he was just trying to cover up the fact that he pitched into a faint when he passed his test, so there.

He was the genin that was entered into the Chuunin exams twice, having failed the first one, and just barely scrapped by the first time. The first time, his team hadn't even made it to the semi-finals because _someone_ had decided to peak into the damn scroll because it was way too much for them. The second time, they knew better, but only two of them had passed into the finals. And when they had gotten to the finals, it was to battle each other. In the end, Iruka had won, but at times, he wondered if that last jutsu he'd done was worth it. But the fourteen year old version of himself always pointed out the obvious: if he hadn't, he would have been the one with scars covering his body, and would never be able to be the ninja he was today.

He was the newly minted Chuunin who had taken his first mission and had been forced to kill for the first time. He was the Chuunin, who, after the mission was over, had stayed in his room for hours, rocking back and forth as he tried to get her out of his head, as he stared into her eyes as she died.

He was the Chuunin that finally broke out of his stupor and continued on with his life a week after his first mission, and went on with life. He was the Chuunin that, finally, after having seen so many of his friends fight and die and kill and break, decided that he didn't want to break as they did, but rather to be the one to help them find themselves again after they broke. He was man that decided that if he were to keep that if he was to truly leave a mark on the world, he wanted to do it through children, to be the one who would give them the world, even if it was only through a job like teaching.

Umino Iruka was the one that people relied on the most, even if they never realized it. He was the teacher, the assistant, the helper, the friend, the acquaintance, the enemy, the mentor, the father figure, the comrade, the defender, the aggressor, the protector, the safe haven, the protected, the best and the worst, everything, nothing, and yet something that no one could truly name because he was _so much._

And no one even noticed because all they couldn't see past what he was at present: an Academy teacher, a mission desk Chuunin and a lowly Chuunin.

But if they'd look closer…


End file.
